Profiling by race exists in Sauk Valley

I write to commend SVM Reporter David Giuliani for addressing the painful problem of racial profiling in the Sauk Valley. Regrettably, there are those who were angered by the report.

Understandably, this is a problem that many choose to deny or even minimize. There are those who would call for the police to end those reports detailing the race of people who are involved in traffic stops, yet without those reports, this would continue undetected.

Furthermore, one need only to read the daily newspaper to realize crime is not exclusive to any particular race as evidenced by the most egregious crimes in our community – most notably the theft of millions of dollars literally under the nose of the entire city apparatus, along with a serial murderer in 2008.

I would recommend to those who disbelieve that racial profiling exists to speak to minorities in this community. Virtually everyone I have ever spoken to who is a minority has told stories of racism; many of those people are unrelated to each other. Surely, not all of them are lying.

As many of my precious students have remarked, it’s hard to understand prejudice if you are not the target of racism.

Diversity and inclusion must be the hallmarks of every community. We must expend every effort to ensure all of our citizens feel welcome and free from suspicion or harassment.

We have made tremendous progress in the United States. However, we can go further only when we acknowledge problems and seek methods to solve them to achieve, as Dr. King called for, “The Beloved Community.”